


inoa kapakapa (nickname)

by gladdecease



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Episode Related, Episode: s02e07 Ka Iwi Kapu, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-02
Updated: 2011-11-02
Packaged: 2017-10-25 15:42:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/271979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gladdecease/pseuds/gladdecease
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An attempt to explain to Lori how things work gets promptly tilted on its side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	inoa kapakapa (nickname)

**Author's Note:**

> Still working on my Steve voice; he's a surprisingly hard character for me to grasp. And while I'm pretty sure there's already a dozen of these stories out there, I still wanted to write one myself. Lori just seems so _amused_ by Steve and Danny, I can't imagine that she's trying to barge in on their homoerotic buddy cop thing.

"Hey, Lori, can I talk to you for a second?"

Lori glanced up from her computer to see Steve standing in her doorway, looking a little uncomfortable. Pulling away from her computer, she nodded. Keeping her voice low and neutral (no need to scare him further than the topic he was contemplating already had), she said, "Sure, Steve, what's going on?"

He stepped further into her office, shutting the door behind him. He shifted where he stood, which spoke even more to how uncomfortable he was. "It's just," he finally managed, "the other day, you called Danny 'Danno'."

Lori blinked. That was it? "Yeah..."

Steve looked away, a hand rubbing at the back of his head. "Could you just, I don't know..." He frowned, his face scrunching up. "Not do that again?"

"Oh!" Of course, she realized. He'd misunderstood her. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to intrude on that thing you two have - "

His face scrunched up further. " _Thing_?"

" - it's just, he was kind of being a jerk, calling me Slutty Wonder Woman like that - "

" - what _thing_ , we don't have a thing - "

" - and you tend to call him Danno when he annoys you, so it seemed appropriate." Lori frowned. Did Steve not realize? He called Danny 'Danno' at the end of a case, or to start an argument, but the ultimate result was always Danny's attention going completely to him, pissed off or otherwise (but usually at least a little ticked off). She'd wanted to piss Danny off a little, just as payback for him imagining her in various slutty Halloween costumes. If Steve didn't see the connection, then either he was clueless, or she was missing something here.

" - and even if we did, it wouldn't be Danno, that's not a Danny-and-me thing, that's a Danny-and- _Grace_ thing."

Huh. Point for the latter option, then. "It is?"

"Of course it is, why would you think..." Steve shook his head, looking lost.

Lori counted off her reasons. "Well, I've never _met_ Grace, for one." Index finger out. "And you're the only person I've ever seen call him Danno." Middle finger out. She waved them at Steve, who stared.

"Oh."

"It's a fairly reasonable conclusion to make," she said gently.

"Right," Steve said, still staring. After a moment, he blinked hard and shook his head slightly. "It's wrong, though."

"Apparently." When it didn't look like he was going to elaborate, Lori tilted her head to one side and prompted, "So. It's a Danny-and-Grace thing?"

"Uh, yeah, she couldn't pronounce his name when she was little, all she could manage was Danno."

She smiled. "That's cute."

"Yeah, I thought so too," Steve said, a small grin creeping onto his face as he remembered... something. Probably the first time he'd heard that story. "Danny doesn't like other people using it, though. It's just supposed to be between him and Grace."

"Alright," Lori said after a moment's consideration. "If it's that important to him, then I won't use it again."

Smile widening, Steve ducked his head slightly in one of his odder gestures, which Lori had become used to associating with embarrassment or gratitude. "Thank you, I'm sure he'll appreciate that." He had turned to leave when Lori voiced the obvious question.

"So, why do _you_ get to use it?"

He turned back around, confusion written all over his face. "What?"

"Well," she began, leaning back in her seat and considering Steve. "If it's supposed to be just between Danny and Grace, why do you get to call him Danno?"

He shrugged. "I - I don't know, I just liked the name. I wouldn't stop using it when Danny asked me to." He grinned. "It _really_ pissed him off at first, but now he's okay with it. It's... I guess maybe it _is_ kind of a thing with us. It's a term of endearment."

"A term of endearment?" Lori repeated, not hiding her amusement.

Steve bristled, saying, "You heard me," a little defensively.

"And..." Lori smiled. Things were starting to come together, now. "You think I shouldn't use terms of endearment towards Danny?"

"I didn't say _that_ \- "

"No, I did," Lori agreed. "Which doesn't mean you weren't thinking it. And Danny didn't like me calling him Danno - which was part of why I did it, I figured it would annoy him - but he doesn't mind when you do it. I'd almost say he enjoys it."

Steve's brow wrinkled. "What are you getting at?"

Lori shrugged. "You just never really answered my question, is all. You told me why you like calling him Danno, not why he lets you get away with it." She stood up, smiling at the confused, almost dumbstruck look on his face. "Just something to think about," she said cheerfully, walking past him. It was about time for lunch, and if she played her cards right she could get Danny's side of the story within the hour. Then she'd know for _certain_ what that thing they had going on really was.

Which was good for her, considering the bet she had riding on it.


End file.
